Blue Highways: A Journey into America

Hailed as a masterpiece of American travel writing, Blue Highways is an unforgettable journey along our nation's backroads. William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about "those little towns that get on the map-if they get on at all-only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill: Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Arizona; Whynot, Mississippi." His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation of the true American experience.

Vanabode: Travel and Live Forever on $20 a Day

This revolutionary new travel book shows everyone how to travel forever on $20 a day including food, gas and lodging. Author Jason Odom and his wife, Kelly, have traveled 700,000 miles in 19 years enjoying the sumptuous beauty of pristine national parks and the exciting nightlife of big cities like San Francisco and Las Vegas. Special offer! Simply email your receipt for this audio book to the author and you will receive the $27 full color PDF version of this book with hundreds of live links to important resources for free. Vanabode shows you how to earn a living working in some of the most exciting places in the United States, like national parks and state recreational areas (if you need income); how to sleep safely and comfortably in your own bed every night; how to eat better than you ever have; how to cook for free without electricity, fire or fuel; how to get rid of all our current debt and regain your freedom; and most importantly - how you can do it forever if you want, starting now!

RV Living: RV Living Full Time for Beginners

Even if you think the RV lifestyle is just for old people or those with too much time on their hands, it's likely that the romance of living on the road has struck you at one time or another. Waking up every morning and having all of nature as your view, clocking in to work at your own schedule, or living in the open and away from it all. The freedom and endless possibilities of living in an RV have appealed to us all.

RV Living Full Time will help you transition smoothly from a boring life at home to the adventure of a lifetime on the open road. At first, it may all feel overwhelming, but this audiobook will help get you properly prepared for the next big chapter in your life.

Any Road USA: Living a Life of Freedom on the Road

Do you belong on the road? Would you be happier living a life of freedom, going wherever you want - north in the summer and south in the winter? But how do you get free of all the encumbrances life’s managed to trap you with? Bob Davidson lives the life he loves, on the road, and he assures you that you can get free and live your life exactly as you want. Here, he tells you exactly how he did it, and it wasn’t necessarily with a grand master plan, as some say you must have to do it right.

Travels with Charley in Search of America

In September 1960, John Steinbeck and his poodle, Charley, embarked on a journey across America, from small towns to growing cities to glorious wilderness oases. Travels with Charley is animated by Steinbeck’s attention to the specific details of the natural world and his sense of how the lives of people are intimately connected to the rhythms of nature—to weather, geography, the cycles of the seasons. His keen ear for the transactions among people is evident, too, as he records the interests and obsessions that preoccupy the Americans he encounters along the way.

The Truth about the RV Life

Have you been bit by the RV bug? Do you spend hours reading blogs on living the RV life, blogs that go on and on about a life of freedom and travel? Do you go to RV shows and wander through the huge homes on wheels, dreaming that you're steering one of the huge beasts to wherever your heart desires? Sunny has been RVing since she was a kid, and she'll show you how to assess if the nomadic lifestyle is for you in an unbiased and educated manner, balancing the pros and the cons. She does this by walking you through the most common steps in the RV life.

Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail

Carrot Quinn fears that she's become addicted to the Internet. The city makes her numb, and she's having trouble connecting with others. In a desperate move, she breaks away from everything to walk 2,660 miles from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. It will be her first long-distance hike.

Where's the Next Shelter?

Where's the Next Shelter? is the true story of three travelers on the Appalachian Trail, a 2,000-mile hike that stretches from Georgia to Maine, told from the perspective of Gary Sizer, a seasoned backpacker and former marine who quickly finds himself humbled by the endeavor. If you long for the horizon or to sleep under the stars, then come along for the hike of a lifetime. All you have to do is take the first step.

Motorhome Living for Beginners: How to Live the Simple, Stress Free RV Lifestyle, Become Independent & Debt Free

When you want to change your lifestyle entirely, you need to have enough motivation, but you also need to have knowledge about the lifestyle that you are adopting. Many people who want to live in an RV full time fail to find a balance in their lives that makes that living pleasurable, while others can live the dream and learn to compromise on comforts for the sake of freedom. They wake up in the morning to feel that they have breathed fresh air. They see different scenery every morning if they so wish.

The RV Lifestyle: How to Declutter your Life, Become Financially Independent and Enjoy a Simple, Stress Free Life by Living in an RV

Ever dream about living in an RV? Wonder what life as an RVer is all about? Want to own an RV and hit the road? If you've never set foot in an RV before, this book will act as a guide to help you understand what RVing is all about. And if you have been an RVer for as long as you can remember, you're bound to pick up some idea or another you may not have thought about, and you may recall fond campground memories you wouldn't have been able to experience were it not for your travels in your RV.

Route 66 Still Kicks: Driving America's Main Street

This travelogue follows Rick and his travel companion Peter along 2,400 miles through eight states from Chicago to Los Angeles as they discover the old Route 66. With surprising and obscure stories about Route 66 personalities like Woody Guthrie, John Steinbeck, Al Capone, Salvador Dali, Dorothea Lange, Cyrus Avery (the Father of Route 66), the Harvey Girls, Mickey Mantle, and Bobby Troup (songwriter of “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66”), Antonson’s fresh perspective reads like an easy drive down a forgotten road.

A Rumor of War

When it first appeared, A Rumor of War brought home to American readers, with terrifying vividness and honesty, the devastating effects of the Vietnam War on the soldiers who fought there. And while it is a memoir of one young man's experiences and therefore deeply personal, it is also a book that speaks powerfully to today's students about the larger themes of human conscience, good and evil, and the desperate extremes men are forced to confront in any war.

RVing with Pets

It's a rich and rewarding world, one with never a dull moment, and Sunny uses lots of examples to show you how to successfully take your own pets along for the ride, whether you're on a short journey or a long one, and whether you're camping in a tent or living in a luxurious motor home.

Tales of a Campground Host

Have you ever wondered what campground hosts really do, other than hang around and shoot the breeze with everyone? Ever wanted to try it out? Sunny Skye, RV meistro par excellance, reveals the tricks of the trade, which are mostly just a combination of patience and earplugs. She'll have you laughing, shaking your head at human behavior, and wondering if those hikers she gave directions to will ever find their way back to camp. And then there's the story of Bunnicula, the bunny who crashes the campground...well, we won't spoil it, just read it for yourself.

Under the Stars: How America Fell in Love with Camping

From the High Sierra to the Adirondacks and the Everglades, Dan White travels the nation to experience firsthand - and sometimes face-first - how the American wilderness transformed from the devil's playground into a source of adventure, relaxation, and renewal. Whether he's camping nude in cougar country, being attacked by wildlife while "glamping", or crashing a girls-only adventure for urban teens, White seeks to animate the evolution of outdoor recreation.

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail

In 2003, software engineer David Miller left his job, family, and friends to hike 2,172 miles of the Appalachian Trail. AWOL on the Appalachian Trail is Miller’s account of this thru-hike from Georgia to Maine. Listeners are treated to rich descriptions of the Appalachian Mountains, the isolation and reverie, the inspiration that fueled his quest, and the rewards of taking a less conventional path through life. While this book abounds with introspection and perseverance, it also provides useful passages about hiking gear and planning.

Publisher's Summary

September 1996 found Philip Caputo on Barter Island, a wind-scoured rock in the Beaufort Sea populated by two hundred Inupiat and a handful of whites. As he gazed upon an American flag above the only school for a 150 miles, he marveled that the children in that school pledged allegiance to the same flag as the children of Cuban immigrants on Key West, almost six thousand miles away. Awed by America’s vastness and diversity and filled with a renewed appreciation for its cohesiveness, an idea began to form. With enough time, gas money, and nerve he could drive from the southernmost point to the northernmost point of the United States that is reachable by road, talking to people as he went and trying to better understand what holds our great country together.

Cicada-like, the idea went dormant, not to be reawakened for 14 years. In 2011, America was struggling through the greatest economic downturn since the Depression and was more divided than it had been in living memory. Caputo, who had just turned 70, his wife, and their two English setters took off in a truck hauling an Airstream camper from Key West, Florida, en route via back roads and state routes to Deadhorse, Alaska. The journey took four months and covered 17,000 miles, during which Caputo interviewed more than 80 Americans from all walks of life to get a picture of what their lives and the life of the nation are really about in the 21st century.

What the Critics Say

"Pithily capturing...characters and opinions about the state of America, Caputo snares...devotees of a classic American theme, the road trip." (Booklist)

"Caputo... rovides ample historical background to the trip’s sites and a nice dose of humor. Curious and genuine, he weaves these elements together to produce a continental tale that is always engaging and frequently reassuring." (Publishers Weekly)

"Pure joy. The best thing to come along since Blue Highways and Travels with Charley." (Doug Stanton, New York Times best-selling author of In Harm's Way)

I loved the whole story line of the travels. the stories of so many many people and their opinions were educational & funny at some points. Only recommendation. ... please get out there and explore more.

This is not a mere travelogue. Along the way, Philip Caputo asked the question of what holds this country together. I'm not sure if the book provided any answer, but it does give a sense of optimism that the people in this diverse country are generally good, and this is a country of opportunity. While I would not rank it as high as William Least Heat Moon's "Blue Highway", the author's background as a journalist provides him with a different perspective as most travel writers.

The narrator has a most annoying tendency to have a certain predictable lilt in his tone whenever he took the voice of a non-white character. Is he trying to make the character sound innocent or naive? Sound curious or in wonderment? I don't know, but it almost sounded like he was stereotyping non-white characters. This completely goes against the author's illustration of the diversity of people in this country. While this is a book that I will certainly read, I will not listen to this audio book again.